Reducing the consumption of electrical energy during operation of printers is of prime interest to individuals and organizations that operate the printers and to regulatory agencies that set standards governing the energy efficiency of printers and other products. Many existing printers include reduced power operating modes, which are sometimes referred to as “standby” modes, where the printer deactivates one or more components to reduce energy usage while the printer is not in use. In the standby mode, the printer is not completely deactivated, but the printer consumes a small amount of power to receive commands from operators without requiring the operators to turn the printer on from the deactivated power state.
While the standby power modes for existing printers help to reduce the power consumption of the printers, many printers experience a delay in the transition from a reduced power operating mode to an elevated power operating mode in which the printer can perform operations such as printing documents. For example, in many xerographic printers an electric heater is activated to heat a fuser roller to an elevated temperature for printing. The heating process takes several seconds and the printer cannot perform a printing process until the fuser reaches an acceptable operating temperature. During a “walk up” printing operation where an operator is physically present at the printer, the time required to transition to the elevated power operating mode delays the printing operation. Consequently, improvements to the printers that enable the printers to operate in reduced power modes while also responding to operator commands with reduced delays would be beneficial.